USA Truck CEO John Simone, an experienced turnaround artist, put together a 27-point plan that has helped the Van Buren company’s stock price almost triple in the past year. (Photos by Kat Wilson)

Cliff Beckham is the chief financial officer at USA Truck Inc. of Van Buren, a company that certainly had an interesting 2013. The trucking company brought in a new CEO and several new executives, fought off — for the time being — a hostile takeover bid by a competitor and saw its fifth consecutive annual net loss.